


Just Once More

by Kato_Jiku



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Adopted!Takao, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I don't want to give too much of the plot away, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Maybe mention of past relationships, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and Takao's lil sis is a sweetie, and people trying to make each other jealous, but Akashi is one intimidating motherfucker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 10:45:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3933859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kato_Jiku/pseuds/Kato_Jiku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takao quits the basketball club in order to care for his little sister as his parents are away on business, but Midorima suspects there might be another reason as well...</p><p>Originally posted on ff.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some things that I sorta revised in this chapter, so it'll be a little different from what I put up on ff.net

The Shutoku basketball club was holding practice as usual that day. After facing utter defeat by the hands of Rakuzan High, they practiced twice as usual in hopes of defeating them in the coming year. Though, after that particular practice, Takao Kazunari had a small announcement to make.

“I’m sorry to be saying this right after that game against Rakuzan, but I’ll be leaving the club due to problems that came up at home. Though our time has been short, it’s been a pleasure playing with you all!” he declared with a serious face and a bow.

Many were shocked by this announcement, especially a certain green-haired ace. However, none of them voiced their concern to the silver-eyed teen and made a beeline to the locker room. After a quick shower, Takao dressed into his school uniform and sat down at the bench in front of his locker, waiting for everyone to leave before packing all of his things. Once the last person left, Takao emptied his locker as a vacant expression crossed his face. He left the locker room with his overstuffed duffel bag hanging off of his shoulder, not expecting to see Midorima Shintaro lingering outside those doors.

Midorima gazed at his basketball partner with a look of anguish on his face. “Why…? Why are you quitting the basketball club now?”

Takao was avoiding his gaze now. “I’m sorry, Shin-chan… Things became pretty complicated at home, and now I have to take care of my little sister.”

“What about your parents?” The green-haired teen decided he did not like the look of sadness that spread across Takao’s face right then.

“They’re both really busy with work. I told you they go away on business a lot, right?”

“Wouldn’t it be hard to live in that house without your parents around?” Midorima paused as an idea suddenly popped into his head. “Why don’t you two come to my house then? I’m sure Mother would understand your situation. That way, your sister would be looked after while you’re at practice, right?”

Takao smiled, yet the brightness of his eyes dulled considerably. “Thanks, Midorima. But my parents insisted that I quit.”

The use of his proper name made Midorima’s blood run cold. Not once since Takao gave him that absurd nickname did the raven ever call him by his proper name. But hearing it from Takao now… Midorima couldn’t bear it. His mind shut down on him just as Takao brushed past him while muttering a soft word of apology. It made Midorima cringe involuntarily. Where was the persistently cheerful Takao he used to know? Had something happened…?

Midorima turned and caught up with Takao with the help of his longer legs. “Takao, is everything alright? Has anything—?”

The raven cut him off shortly. “Everything’s fine. There’s nothing you need to worry yourself over, Midorima.”

The taller teen recoiled once more before following after Takao. “There _is_ something, isn’t there? Takao, please tell me.”

Takao shook his head and continued walking. “It’s nothing.”

“Kazunari…” Midorima almost whined.

The shorter of the two nearly tripped; the name definitely caught his attention. “D-don’t call me that.”

Knowing he’d hit a weak spot, Midorima carried on. “Tell me what’s wrong, Kazunari.”

Takao sped up his walking pace, but the taller teen had no trouble keeping up with him. After a while, Takao stopped short and turned to Midorima. “Why should I tell you anyway? It isn’t like you ever considered me a friend. I was just a nuisance to you, wasn’t I?”

The taller boy’s eyes widened. “That’s not—”

“Don’t lie!” Takao interrupted, voice cracking. “You were annoyed by my presence; I could tell you were. The way you looked at me said it all, Shin-chan!”

Midorima’s jaw almost dropped open at Takao’s outburst, and the poor shooting guard was rendered speechless. He couldn’t think of anything to prove that Takao was wrong. It was true. Midorima _had_ looked at Takao with annoyance, but he never meant anything by it. That was just how Midorima was. Takao should at least understand that by now, but he apparently doesn’t. With that thought in mind, Midorima felt a sharp pain in his chest.

“You hate me, don’t you?” He could see the tears threatening to fall from Takao’s eyes, and just when Midorima was about to reach out, the raven turned and ran from his reach.

“Takao…” Midorima took a step forward as if he were about to run after Takao but then stopped short.

_“You hate me, don’t you?”_

The tall shooting guard lowered his outstretched hand, clenching it into a fist. “Bakao… How could I ever hate you?”

* * *

 

“Big bro, are you okay?” Himiko asked, looking awfully concerned after she saw Takao wiping at his face as he walked through the front door.

The older brother tried to smile despite his downcast mood. “Not really… but don’t worry, okay? Big bro can handle it.”

Himiko tilted her head. “Is it because you had to quit basketball for me?” She watched her brother’s face falter before continuing. “You didn’t have to listen to our parents… It’s not like you owe them anything.”

Takao remained silent for a while as they walked before opening his mouth to speak. “I feel like I _do_ owe them, Himi-chan. They’re the ones who adopted me after all…”

The girl looked up to her brother with her wide, caramel eyes, a slight frown on her petite face. “Don’t say things like that, big bro. You know they think of you as their own son.”

Takao smiled, patting the girl’s head. “Yeah, I know they do, but it still doesn’t change a thing. I’ll never be related to you guys by blood.”

Himiko threw her arms around Takao’s waist, her full height barely reaching his mid-torso. “Blood doesn’t matter!” she exclaimed with a sob. “To me, you’ll always be my real big bro!”

“Himi-chan… Thank you…” Takao said, hugging the girl close. Once he let go, the former point guard kissed her forehead. “Nothing happened on your way home today, right? From tomorrow on, I’ll be the one picking you up from school.”

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Okay, big bro. As for your future decisions, choose whatever makes you happiest, okay? Don’t try to please our parents all the time.”

“Fine, fine… And how old are you again?” Takao asked jokingly.

Himiko pouted as she retorted, “I’m almost twelve!”

Takao laughed and drew his sister into a hug once more. “Sorry. You just look so cute when you talk to me like that. I love you, little sis.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be up in my room, okay? Knock on my door if you need help with anything. Oh! But before that… are you hungry?”

The girl shook her head. “Just a little.”

“How about we eat a little snack then? Do grapes sound okay to you?” When Himiko nodded, Takao walked into the kitchen and got set to washing the grapes. “Do you have any homework you want to go over with me?”

Himiko shook her head. “No, but I’ll ask you for help when I need it.”

Takao nodded, handing his little sister a bowl of the freshly washed grapes. “Here you go. I’ll start making dinner in a little bit, okay?”

Himiko thanked her brother and ran upstairs to her room in order to study. Sighing, Takao grabbed his own bowl of grapes and turned to the stairs when the doorbell sounded. He gave the front door a confused look, as he wasn’t expecting any company at all that day. Upon opening the door a crack, Takao was surprised to see the green-haired shooting guard, who was scowling down at him.

“Shin-chan… What are you doing here? Didn’t we just talk ten minutes ago?” Takao inquired, obviously not wanting to speak with Midorima at the moment.

“I wanted to continue our conversation,” Midorima replied in a stoic manner, pushing his way inside since Takao was reluctant to budge from the door.

“There’s nothing left to discuss,” Takao shot back, sighing when the taller teen pushed past him. “Just tell me what you want and quickly leave.”

Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Let’s start with what you’d last said to me. I don’t hate you, Takao. To be honest, I actually l—”

“No, Midorima. Don’t say it. Please don’t make that mistake. There’s nothing I can give back to you,” Takao said, squeezing his eyes shut at the lie he’d just obviously told. Midorima really did have feelings for him. The raven was glad for that fact, but Takao didn’t want to hear those words come out of Midorima’s mouth because he knew his resolution would waver. Takao wouldn’t be able to move on from their complicated relationship then.

“Takao…” From the tone of the taller male’s voice, Takao could tell Midorima was hurt.

Takao made himself continue, digging down into a deeper hole of regret and self-loathing. “You’re special to me, but I’m afraid I can’t return those feelings you harbor for me, Midorima.”

“Even so, won’t you still give me a chance? I… I want to be with you, Takao,” Midorima pleaded.

The raven shook his head, looking Midorima in the eye. “I’m sorry. The two of us just aren’t meant to be.”

The green-haired teen frowned. “But our signs are compatible. Either Oha Asa is completely wrong, or you’re telling a horrible lie.”

Takao’s temper flared a little, causing him to raise his voice. “Do you really believe in that horoscope crap?”

If Midorima was surprised about Takao’s outburst, he didn’t show it. “Oha Asa has always been reliable in the past.”

“So what? A stupid horoscope shouldn’t control what type of person someone should fall in love with! Are you stupid, Midorima?”

“Horoscopes merely predict what could happen, Takao. It all depends on whether the source is reliable or not. Oha Asa has been the most reliable so far.”

Takao opened his mouth to fire another insult back at Midorima, but a small, feminine voice interrupted him. “Big bro? I hear yelling. Is everything okay?”

The raven whirled around, spotting his younger sister standing at the foot of the stairs. “Himi-chan! I’m sorry. Did I disrupt you?”

The girl shook her head. “I was just wondering what all the yelling was about. Is everything okay?”

Takao smiled, not wanting his sister to worry. “Everything’s alright. I’m sorry for making you come down here and interrupt your studying.”

Himiko gave her brother a smile. “It’s okay, big bro. I’m going back up to study now.” Before doing so, the girl turned to Midorima and bowed. “It’s nice seeing you again, Midorima-san, but please refrain from arguing with my brother. He is facing a difficult time right now, and I wouldn’t want to see him get even more stressed.” That having said, the small girl left the room.

Takao then turned to Midorima, his smile dropping from his face. “Let’s step outside. I don’t want to do that to Himi-chan again.”

Hearing Takao refer to his little sister like that only gave Midorima a deep sense of envy. Until today, that was how Takao referred to the green-haired shooting guard, and Midorima suddenly felt alienated. There was something very serious going on with his basketball partner, and Midorima was going to find out _now_. “Yes, I think it would be wise to step outside,” the shooting guard replied, grabbing Takao by the arm and dragging him outside.

Takao almost yelped. Midorima’s grip was strong, and it was getting to the point where it was twisting his arm. “Mi… Shin-chan, that hurts…”

The taller teen lets go and takes him by the shoulders instead. “Takao, just give me a chance.” When the raven didn’t respond, Midorima sighed and began using Takao’s first name once again. “Kazunari, please say something to me. At least… tell me what’s wrong.”

The raven merely averts his gaze from him. “It’s nothing that concerns you, Midorima.”

Midorima flinched. _Again with the name… and what’s with that tone? It sounds so harsh. It’s not like him at all…_ “Of course it concerns me, Bakao. Back then, even if it wasn’t a spoken agreement, we promised to play basketball together and become the best players in Japan. Have you thrown all of that away?”

The raven shrugged both hands off his shoulders, completely turning away this time and facing his house. “Maybe I have. Are you done talking, Midorima? If you are, I’ll be going back inside. And in the future… don’t try to talk to me again, okay?” It was easy for Takao to keep his voice from wavering, especially when he wasn’t looking at Midorima’s face when he said those words. It was easy, but his heart was in utter turmoil.

Upon stepping inside his house again, Takao headed straight for his bedroom and locked himself inside. He flung himself onto his bed and mentally kicked himself over what he’d just done to his beloved ace. _This is it…_ he thought. _There’s no going back now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!! MidoTaka is a pairing that I simply adore, so I just had to write about them. Updates might be a little sporadic for this particular fic since I'm facing a major writer's block at the moment. Make sure to leave Kudos and comment below, and I will see you guys in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takao's absence at practice leaves Midorima in a state of unbalance while Takao has a very hard time _not_ speaking to his former ace.

The moment Takao awoke the next morning, he instantly felt like shit. Memories of the events from the previous evening flooded back to him, and he wished they hadn’t. He wanted to forget, and, above all, he wanted to forget how hurt Midorima had sounded. He wanted to apologize immediately after speaking those harsh words, but the mental image of heterochromatic eyes piercing through him kept him from doing so. The raven clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

_Damn that Akashi…_

* * *

 

Midorima attended morning practice as always, but he felt out of place without Takao within his proximity. He was so bothered by it that he missed a total of three shots that morning, which was absolutely unheard of when it came to Midorima. The shooting guard’s shots _always_ hit their mark. For the rest of practice, Midorima was asked by Coach Nakatani to sit out and observe the rest of the team.

“It’s a shame that Kazunari-kun had to resign from the club,” Nakatani began as he tried making light conversation with the green haired shooter. “Taisuke-kun and I were both thinking of passing the captaincy on to him, you know.”

Midorima turned to face his coach, eyes widened in a look of shock. “What’s going to happen now?” Midorima asked in a quiet tone.

“You were our second choice, of course,” Coach Nakatani replied with a small smile. “That is, if you’re willing to take that responsibility.”

“O-of course, Coach,” Midorima stated with a small bow of his head.

Nakatani chuckled, giving the shooting guard a small pat on the back. “I’ll be counting on you. By the way, have you spoken to Kazunari-kun?”

Midorima’s shoulders tensed as he lowered his head. “I… I tried speaking to him, but couldn’t get much out of him… And then he told me he didn’t want to talk to me anymore…”

“Hmm, I see…” Nakatani mused with a frown and a small nod. “Well, I hope things get better between you two. It’s unusual to see you separated like this. Maybe you can still convince him to come back to the team. The end of the school year is still a few months away, after all.”

“I’ll do what I can,” was Midorima’s earnest reply.

“I’m counting on you, Shintaro-kun.” With a final pat on Midorima’s back, Nakatani stood and blew his whistle, signaling the end of morning practice.

* * *

 

“Hey, do you think something happened between Takao-kun and Midorima-kun? They haven’t spoken a word to each other today.”

“Huh? Well, I heard that Takao quit the basketball club.”

“No way! Is there any chance you heard that wrong?”

“No. After all, he wasn’t at morning practice today. A friend of mine from the basketball club told me.”

“Huh… I wonder what made him quit…”

“It’s probably whatever happened between him and Midorima…”

“Well, I just hope Midorima-kun is okay. He looks kinda sad, don’t you think?”

“What? He looks the same to me.”

“Ugh, you men are so oblivious. It’s obvious he wants to talk to Takao-kun, but he’s been completely ignored. Takao-kun isn’t even sparing him a glance.”

“Whatever. I mean, it’s a good thing, isn’t it? People used to think they were dating before. You wouldn’t want nasty rumors like that flying around, would you?”

“Oh, no! But what if they actually were dating and had a bad breakup? That’d explain so much, wouldn’t it?”

“You women and your fantasies…”

And that was the conversation Midorima had to listen to as he waited for first period to start. He was mostly annoyed by the fact that his classmates were conversing with each other as if the very two people they’ve been talking about weren’t even there. He inwardly sighed and watched the back of Takao’s head since he was sitting in the seat that was directly behind the raven haired teen.

Takao didn’t look bothered at all by the earlier conversation between his classmates, but, of course, Midorima couldn’t look into Takao’s mind in order to be entirely sure. It bothered Midorima that he couldn’t read his former shadow’s mind. If he could read Takao’s mind, then all their conflicts could have been solved by now.

Midorima sighed and stared dejectedly at his notebook that was opened to a blank page. Without much thought, he picked up his pencil and started doodling on the page to keep himself from thinking too much about his former partner. Of course, it was all in vain when the doodle started taking on the form of Takao himself. Frustrated, the shooting guard set down his pencil and closed the notebook in front of him. He’ll get rid of the drawing later.

* * *

 

Takao knew he was being watched from behind as he ate out of his bento, and he sighed. It was so hard not to talk to Midorima like this. There were a few instances where he forgot he wasn’t talking to the green-haired teen anymore and almost turned around in his seat to ask Midorima about what the teacher was teaching before he suddenly remembers and sits stock-still in his seat for long afterwards.

He knew Midorima wanted to talk to him again. Badly. But Takao knew that if he started talking to Midorima again, he’d start acting normally around Midorima again, and that was something that couldn’t happen. Not after Akashi threatened the raven that he’d gouge his eyes out if he didn’t try to avoid Midorima and quit the basketball club on his command. The red-head was fixated on winning Midorima over and also get rid of competition on the court at the same time, and Takao wasn’t going to stop him. Akashi was far too frightening, even after he was back to being the _real_ one. Which was why Takao made every excuse he could after the winter cup, even using his parents’ busy schedules and Himiko’s need for someone to look after her at home, to drop out of the basketball club and essentially not have a reason to talk to Midorima again. This is what Akashi wants, right? But somehow, doing this was really hard. Midorima was someone very special to Takao, and it hurt to give him up like this.

The door to the classroom slid open with a bang, and a certain blond haired third year poked his head inside the classroom. “Oi! Takao! Midorima! Quit moping around and get your asses out here!”

Takao jumped in his seat as he was about to take a bite of his food and pointed an index finger at himself. “E-eh? Miyaji-senpai, why are you calling me as well? I resigned from the basketball club yesterday, remember?”

Miyaji waved his hand in front of his face in a dismissing manner. “That has nothing to do with this. Now, get out here! There’s someone who wants to speak to you two.”

Takao and Midorima shared a look as they both stood up from their seats. What exactly was this about? Who in the world would need to speak to the both of them at once?

Once they both exited the classroom, Takao immediately wanted to run back to safety. The person standing in front of the light and shadow duo of Shutoku was none other than Akashi Seijuurou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dun!
> 
> I'm sorry for making the chapter so short, but I've literally been writing and re-writing this chapter for over a year, and I just wanted to be done with it! I'll make sure the next chapter is longer, I promise. Also, I'm not really sure when the next chapter is going to be out. I'm trying to get back into writing little by little, but it might be a little hard if my work schedule changes over the summer.
> 
> Also keep, sending in reviews and Kudos! They really do help me write faster! Seriously, please review. It doesn't matter if you tell me what you like about the chapter, or even what you dislike about it. I like reviews that give mostly constructive criticism because they help me learn and strive to become a better writer! Also please avoid using the phrase "Next update please!" or "Please update soon!" I do not like being rushed with my writing. I will write at my own steady pace, so I ask you to be patient with me in the meantime.


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